Monday, 3 December 2012

Statement on the Humanitarian Situation in North Kivu - Humantiarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Moustapha Soumare

Twelve days after the take-over of Goma
by the M23 rebel movement, the humanitarian and protection situation
remains extremely worrying in North Kivu. At least 130,000 people are
displaced in spontaneous sites and camps in and around Goma. The
majority have fled the fighting in the area over the past two weeks.
As the implementation of the decisions of the Kampala Declaration
gets underway and the M23 withdraws from Goma, the protection of the
civilian population must be a priority for all, in line with the ongoing
efforts of MONUSCO and international partners. Goma has a population of
nearly 800,000 and while awaiting that the Congolese authorities regain
full control over the city, one cannot exclude the risk of looting or
renewed violence.
I call on all parties to honour their obligations under International Humanitarian Law to protect all civilians.
Humanitarian agencies are stepping up their effort on the ground to
provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable. NGOs
and UN Agencies provide the displaced with water, food, basic
necessities and medical care, including for the wounded. Humanitarian
protection activities are equally important in this context, including
assistance to victims of sexual violence and reuniting separated
children with their families. Humanitarians are also facing an
additional challenge with the contamination of many areas by explosive
remnants of war, particularly north of Goma.
Some of the displaced people have already chosen to leave the crowded
camps in Goma to return to their homes, where the fighting has stopped.
However, thousands of people are at the same time fleeing armed groups’
brutal attacks which are on the rise in other areas of North Kivu,
particularly in Masisi. In this context, the situation will remain
volatile and hundreds of thousands of people will continue to depend on
emergency aid for their survival.
I salute the persistence of humanitarian actors who continue their
work under extremely precarious security conditions in the Goma area. To
sustain these efforts, I call on all parties to ensure unhindered
humanitarian access to people in need wherever they are, and to ensure
the protection of displaced and host communities and their access to
assistance.
I hope to see the ongoing regional initiatives lead to an effective
and lasting resolution of the recurring crisis in eastern DRC, to allow
the hundreds of thousands of Congolese to no longer have to suffer from
the human tragedies seen every day on the ground.
I thank donor countries for their generosity. Thanks to resources
made available through the Humanitarian Pooled Fund, we have been able
to rapidly organise an effective humanitarian response. New pledges made
by several partners following the most recent deterioration of the
situation in the Kivus will help continue alleviating the suffering of
thousands of people, in spite of the low funding levels of the 2012
Humanitarian Action Plan (HAP). The HAP has so far received only 56 per
cent of the US$791 million required to respond to the humanitarian needs
in the country. The DRC is also affected by severe epidemics (measles,
cholera…), alarming levels of chronic malnutrition or food insecurity
that has worsened since the beginning of this year.